


New Year

by PagetPaulson



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-03-17 18:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3539012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagetPaulson/pseuds/PagetPaulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Was it allowed that two students of the opposite sex room together?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe you get to room with a boy," Chelsea snickered, picking up a new box from the car and following the other brunette up the steps toward the buiding. "I would literally die."

Turning to glare at her younger sister, Emily yanked open the door and led her back to her new room. "It's not a good thing, Chels. I'd rather room with a girl who I can borrow makeup and shoes from. Rooming with a boy is just going to be annoying." Walking back into the room, the brunette beauty scoffed. "I mean, look at his side of the room already."

The bed wasn't even made and all of his boxes were scattered around his side of the room, a poster half put up and hanging from the wall. The RA had told her that he'd been there for hours, and for some reason he didn't unpack yet.

"He looks like a slob," the rich girl groaned, dropping her next box onto her twin sized bed. "He probably has more where that came from too."

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Don't be a snob."

"I'm not being a snob," the older brunette bit out, slapping her sister in the arm. "I have to live with this guy and I don't need him already making a mess of my room." Turning at the sound of a new set of footsteps entering the room, Emily smiled and took the last box from her father. "Thanks daddy."

David Rossi gave a sigh as he looked around the room, his hands on his hips. "I'm not sure I like you living with a boy, Emmy. It's not appropriate."

Emily rolled her eyes, letting her father press a kiss to her hair. "Daddy, it's my fault. I forgot to send in my housing application and they said so did my roommate. This was the only way for me to live on campus and I'm not allowed to live off campus until I'm a junior," she shrugged.

"There's always commuting."

"We live in Virginia," she snickered. "And I go to school here in New York. I'll be fine, I promise."

Bringing his youngest closer to him, David pressed his lips to her ear. "Did you give your sister her present?"

Emily quickly lifted the can of mase up into the air. "Right here."

"So did you remember your birth control, Em?"

Emily glared hard at her younger sister and gave a shove to her shoulder. "Not that it's any of your business," she growled, "but I'm well prepared and protected for anything like that."

Chelsea's big brown eyes sparkled. "So condoms too?"

The father of two quickly stepped in between the two, stopping his eldest daughter from weilding that strong fist of hers and punching her sister. "Alright, calm down now. Emily, why don't we get you unpacked and we'll go and get some lunch before we have to leave?"

Emily took a breath before nodding her head. "That sounds good," she smiled.

Hours later, the newfound college girl was seated on her freshly made bed with her laptop hot in her lap. She hadn't really spoken to anyone after her family had left her to start her new school year, but she had made a plan with her friend who had been going to this college for a whole year already to spend the day with him tomorrow after her orientation.

Her bedroom door swung open, her brown eyes looking up from her computer screen to see a dark haired boy waving to someone out in the hall before walking into the room. "Hello?"

Spinning around to face the girl on the bed, the college boy's hazel eyes stared hard at her beautiful features and dark wavy hair sitting around her shoulders. "Hey," he smiled, walking over to the other side of the room and holding his hand out to the younger girl. "You must be my new roommate. Aaron Hotchner."

"Emily Prentiss," she smiled timidly, letting him shake her hand. "So where have you been all day?"

Aaron gave a shrug as he moved the boxes from the bed to the floor, missing the look of the disgust from the other freshman behind him. "I have some friends here and they invited me to a party. There's one tomorrow night if you want to come," he smiled, looking over his shoulder.

Giving a gentle smile, Emily shook her head. "I'll think about it. Thanks."


	2. Chapter 2

Feeling a huge thud to the back of her head, the tired brunette quickly flipped over to look at the boy who slept in the bed beside hers. "What the hell?" she yawned. "Can I help you?"

Aaron laughed, not noticing the widening of his roommate's eyes at the sight of his pecks before he slipped his shirt on. "Remember me? Your roommate?"

"Why did you throw a pillow at me?"

The older brunette gestured to the alarm clock on the small end table between their beds. "We have orientation in fifteen minutes," he chuckled. "Thought you might want to be there."

Eyes widening, Emily lifted herself up on her elbow and glanced at the clock. "Why didn't this go off?" she growled, grabbing the clock from off of the table.

"It did, and you shut it off when it rang."

Emily rolled her eyes, throwing the covers off of her body and getting up from her bed. "I did not."

The other college freshman laughed at the denial the younger brunette had. "You did. I swear on my own grave."

Emily watched, half hoping for the older boy to drop right then and there so she'd be proven right, but after a few minutes, she threw her hands up. "Whatever."

Watching as the rich girl wandered to the closet they were sharing, Aaron lifted his deodorant to finish getting ready. "So after all this, you wanna go get some breakfast?"

"Don't look," she chasted, knowing he was checking her out as she shed her pajama shorts to slip on a pair of jeans. "Yeah, that sounds good." Glancing over her shoulder, Emily have him an awkward smile. "Thanks."

Aaron bit down on the inside of his cheek at the sight of his roommate throwing her sleep shirt in the hamper before clipping her bra behind her back. "So," he coughed, smiling to the younger brunette as she turned back around. "What are you majoring in?"

The rich girl ran her fingers through her hair before throwing it up in a ponytail. "Double majoring in forensic sciences and criminology, then minoring in psychology. What about you?"

"Actually, the exact same," Aaron breathed, his eyes meeting those of the beautiful girl standing near their closet and smiling. "But I'm also minoring in theology."

Emily smiled, thanking the older boy as she walked out the door that Aaron had held open for her. "So your friends you went out with last night, how do you know them?"

The hazel eyed boy shrugged, squinting as the sun shined from beyond the trees just before them. "JJ is from my school back in Texas, and Derek grew up with me before he moved in his sophomore year. They're both in the pre med program."

"So is my friend Spencer," Emily smiled. "He's actually a genius, and he's switched his major maybe five times."

"Like an actual genius?"

The rich girl smirked, nodding to the older boy walking beside her. "Higher IQ than Einstein. He's only fifteen and he's a junior here."

"Now I feel like I have to work to be a little more impressive," Aaron laughed, sharing a smile with the beautiful brunette at his side as they walked into the auditorium, his hand brushing against the small of her back as they walked beside the rest of the freshmen crowding the halls.

Seeing all the seats beginning to fill up, Aaron took Emily by the hand and ushered her down toward the front. "There are a couple seats over here."

Surprised by his forwardness, the rich girl blushed, nodding band following quickly behind the older boy to find a seat.

"Hey man," a random freshman in the second row laughed, hitting the brunette boy on the shoulder to get his attention. "You hittin' that or can I get in on it?"

Aaron heard the gasp from his roommate and quickly pushed the hand off of him. "Back off."

Biting her lip, Emily turned to face the dean of the school, hearing Aaron at her side cursing out the other freshman as quietly as he could. And when she felt him lightly take her hand, she smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Following the handsome boy she had now found out was in two of her classes, Emily fixed the sleeve of her small jacket. "They live off campus?"

"Only a block away," Aaron nodded, smiling to the brunette at his side. "JJ and Morgan are roommates in this apartment building near this amazing bar and he told me to bring a pretty girl he could meet," he winked.

The brunette slapped at his arm. "Shut up."

Aaron laughed, nudging the younger freshman with his fist as he shook his head. "I'm kidding, I swear. But he said he wanted to meet my roommate, and I feel like surprising him with you is gonna be a good laugh."

"Careful!" she shrieked, pulling him back when he almost stepped out into the street. "Do you even pay attention?"

Aaron felt Emily's hands clutch tightly around his bicep, the cars that he hadn't seen beforehand rushing past them and a few others on the sidewalk.

Emily tugged him to her side. "Pay attention," she laughed nervously.

Letting the younger freshman keep a hold of him, Aaron remembered to make sure to look both ways before crossing to the other side of the city street. "So do you drink?"

"I really don't think I know anyone who doesn't," she laughed, her eyes crinkling as she let go of the older boy. "Favorite drink?"

The eighteen year old had to think. "I'm good with beer." He laughed, seeing the face that his roommate was making. "What?"

Emily stuck her tongue out and made a sound that sounded like a wretch. "Beer tastes like such piss," she giggled, knocking her hand against his as they made their way toward the apartment building's entrance. "I like vodka and lemonade."

"Baby drink," he teased her.

The eighteen year old girl smiled gently up to the laughing boy, and she nodded a thank you to him when he held the door open for him. "So your friends, you think they'll like me?"

Aaron swiped his tongue over the corner of his mouth. "I don't see why they wouldn't. But be forewarned, JJ will be spraying the place down when we're going inside. Her and her boyfriend are into smoking." Turning his head, Aaron caught the younger girl's eye. "You ok?"

Emily's lips pursed, her head shaking as they walked up the stairs to the third floor. "I'm not really into drugs."

"If you ask her, or I can do it if you're not comfortable, she'll won't do it around you."

Gently nodding her head, the brunette girl chuckled and let him punch lightly at her shoulder as they walked toward the end of the hall. "Thanks," she smiled, grateful for his help in making her feel the tiniest bit comfortable.


	4. Chapter 4

"Man!"

Emily stepped back a bit as Derek dragged her roommate over to a new group of guys that came over from the other side of the bar.

Seeing the younger girl's pensive eyes looking toward the new group of people gesturing toward them, the blond flipped her hair over her shoulder. "You good?" she laughed, taking a cigarette from her new pack. "You look stressed."

Emily glanced to the older girl and quickly shook her head. "I'm ok."

"You need a drink?"

Laughing, the brunette lifted up the glass she had before her. "I haven't finished this one yet."

JJ snorted, her eyes catching onto the way the freshman's lips curled around her glass. "You do that with Aaron and you're sure to stay around a long time."

Covering her mouth, Emily forced herself to keep her drink from flying past her lips and onto the table. "Oh my God," the brunette laughed, shaking her head at the blond girl's grin. "We're just roommates."

"A lot of stuff you can do in a room just to yourselves."

Emily frowned, not able to open her mouth to reply to the snarky comment made by the older girl before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Em," came the voice of her roommate. "This is Matt."

The blue eyed boy walked up to the table, smiling as he offered his hand to the younger girl. "Hey."

Emily let him shake her hand. "Hi," she smiled, seeing an encouraging smile from Aaron in the corner of her eye.

Seeing what the boys in the group were trying to do, JJ stood from her seat. "We're gonna go and get another round. You two stay and chat," she winked, grabbing her marijuana cigarettes she had rolled that morning and walking over to the bar.

Aaron followed his friends across the room, his eyes continually glancing back to the couple he had left alone.

"You ok, man?"

"What?" Looking to the older boy, Aaron immediately nodded his head. "Fine, why?"

Derek laughed, punching at his friend's shoulder. "You wanna go back and talk to her? I can get Matt a different girl to talk to."

Aaron rolled his eyes, taking the beer from the counter and downing it. "Whatever." He glanced over his shoulder, his smile that has wanted to stay glued to his face dropping to the floor when he saw his roommate laugh at something Matt whispered to her.

Why was he mad? Aaron shrugged off the feeling, stealing a few peanuts from the bowl on the bar. She was just his roommate.

Just his roommate.


	5. Chapter 5

Sitting up at the sound of a key sliding into the lock on his bedroom door, Aaron quickly threw his book under his bed and shut off the light. Getting under his covers, the eighteen year old closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

He had been waiting up for his roommate for a full four hours, sitting in their room and trying to think of something to pass the time. He hadn't wanted to leave in case she got back, but there was nothing to do in the small space because classes hadn't started. For the first hour he had been shuffling and pacing around the room, wanting to rip his hair from his head, but then he had laid his eyes on Emily's bookshelf and grabbed something to pass the time.

Opening up her dorm room door as quietly as she could, the ambassador's daughter set her back against the doorframe. "Thank you for taking me home."

Matt shrugged. "It wasn't a problem, don't worry. You know," he grinned, nodding inside, "I'm more than willing to come and cuddle with you if you think it's too cold in there. Blankets don't always get the job done, you know."

Aaron rolled his eyes behind his closed lids at the remark. The other student never really gave the best pick up lines.

Licking at her bottom lip, Emily gave a smile. "As much as I'd like that, I don't think Aaron would appreciate another roommate. The room is pretty cramped as it is."

The older boy nodded, hesitating before finally setting a peck to Emily's cheek and leaving her to walk into her room by herself.

Emily bit her lip to try and stop her smile as she closed the door behind her. "Hey," she called to her friend, shedding her jacket and lying by the foot of her bed as she noticed the body underneath the blankets. "You awake?"

Faking the tiredness in his voice, Aaron stretched his body just a bit and strained his neck. "Hey."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, sitting on the edge of her bed so she could slip off her shoes. "Did I wake you up? I didn't think you'd be asleep already."

The older boy's eyes squinted as he shook his head. "What time is it?"

Emily glanced at the clock between their beds. "Two in the morning," she said, her eyes widening in surprise.

"So you and Matt had a good time, I guess. You stayed out pretty late."

The brunette stood and stripped over in the dark corner near her closet, reaching for the pajamas she had laid out beforehand. "He was nice," she smiled, thinking of how the older boy had been with her. "Thanks for introducing us."

Aaron wanted to throw himself down the stairs. "Of course. Now stop talking so I can sleep."

Emily laughed as she got into her bed, taking her hair down from her ponytail and lying her head on her pillow. "Goodnight," she chuckled. "Hey, do you want to go over to fifth avenue and then the Upper East side tomorrow? My dad has this dinner and I need to go and get a dress at least a week in advance."

Aaron met the younger girl's eyes through the darkness. "You gonna treat me to a nice dinner afterward?"

The freshman's eyes crinkled as her laughter vibrated throughout her body. "Sure."

"Then I'll see you in the morning," he winked.

Biting her lip, Emily watched as the older boy across from her let his eyes close once more, and she gently whispered, "Thanks for waiting up for me," before letting herself fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"Common law."

Looking up from his textbook, the freshman boy frowned. "What?" he questioned, twirling his highlighter in between his fingers as he tried to think.

Emily looked to the older boy. "Common law. Give me the definition."

The brunette boy's jaw dropped a little as he tried to think of what the words meant. "Uh...the law of the common people?"

Emily's eyes crinkled as she laughed. "The law of the common people?"

Aaron shoved the younger girl, hiding his smile as he looked down to the textbook. "Alright, what does it mean?"

"Common law is a law that is established by following earlier judicial decisions."

"Well why the hell is it called Common Law?"

Emily looked to the boy who was sharing her desk with her and laughed. "I didn't come up with the name, Aaron," she giggled, gesturing down to the notebook in front of her roommate. "Study."

The older boy gave a groan. "Can we be done?"

"We have our first exam in the morning," the younger brunette pointed out, flipping the cap off of her highlighter and drawing the yellow marker over another line on the page.

Aaron gave a pout that a toddler would. "We've studied enough, Em." They had been in classes for about a week now and they had been studying for the majority of two days. "Don't you think we're covered?"

The brunette's eyes widened. "You didn't know what common law meant!"

"Who the hell does?"

Emily pointed to herself, her head tilting as she gave the cockiest smile she ever had to the older boy. "This one right here." Giggling as she watched her roommate give her the finger, she threw her dark hair over her shoulder. "So are you ready for tomorrow?" After a lot of convincing, she had gotten Aaron to agree to escort her to her parents' function that was only a few blocks away from their campus.

"I have my suit and everything," he nodded, looking up to the beautiful girl before him. "When I get ready and you see me tomorrow, you won't even recogize me."

"I won't?"

The freshman winked to his roomate. "I clean up good."

Emily grinned, flicking her tongue over her bottom lip. "Well," she corrected lightly.

"Huh?"

Emily felt a blush immediately grow on her cheeks at the look that the older boy was giving her. "You said 'good', but you mean 'well'. It's proper grammar," the embarrassed brunette tried to explain.

Aaron's eyes darkened on the younger girl. "Do you want me to punch you?"

"Go ahead," she laughed. "You saw me down in the gym. I could take you."

"You so could not!"

Emily's eyes widened, laughing at the outrage she saw on Aaron's face. "Do you wanna go down and try me? I swear to God, I will have you on the ground in under a minute."

Aaron's brows raised as he made a suggestive look.

"Ew," the rich girl laughed, shoving at Aaron's shoulder before she stood from her seat. "Let's go. Whoever can pin the other down first wins."

"Wait, what are we winning?"

Pausing, the brunette girl looked down to her roommate. "Full body massage."

Aaron laughed, following his roommate out of their shared room asfter grabbing their gym gear. "You're kidding."

"I never kid about massages," she winked, seeing Matt looking at them from the common area before they raced down to the gym in their building.


	7. Chapter 7

Fixing the strap of her sports bra, Emily grabbed her towel and walked out of the locker room. She and Aaron had added an extra proposition onto the bet they had agreed to before coming down to the gym: the full body massage after the other person was to make the winner dinner, and serenade them in front of the rest of their dorm.

There was no way she could lose to the older boy.

Emily laughed when she saw Aaron leaning against the wall across from the locker room entrance door. "You got ready pretty quickly," she chuckled, ignoring the way his biceps looked in the muscle tee he had thrown on.

Subtly letting his eyes rake over the brunette's lean figure, the green and black sports bra and yoga pants tight aginst her skin causing his tongue to dry out. "Same to you." He reached forward and tugged lightly at the braid that she had woven her dark hair into. "Cute. What are you, a middle schooler?"

Emily shared a smile with the older boy before shoving him away from her. "You're gonna get beaten by this so-called middle schooler in a few seconds."

Aaron gave a loud laugh, throwing his bag over by a couple of students sitting on the bleachers. "Yeah fucking right. Em, you can't beat me."

"You don't know," she stated innocently, batting her eyelashes over at the older boy. "You've never seen me fight before."

"You really think you can beat this?" the older brunette laughed as he flexed his muscles.

Emily sent him a cheeky smile, slipping on the gloves that she always wore when she would go to the gym with her friends and work on their self defense. "Yeah, I think I can."

"Well I sure hope that you can cook."

The rich girl laughed. "And I sure hope that you can sing."

Aaron grinned to the beautiful girl before cracking his knuckles. "You ready?"

"Bring it on," his roommate winked.

Charging forward, the older brunette immediately saw Emily's arms go out to try and knock him off his feet. Aaron quickly bent his body over his knees and took her arm in his hand, feeling her body tense as she was spun around and knocked onto the matted floor.

The brown eyed girl let out a breath at the sight of her roommate kneeling down beside her. "Best two out of three," she laughed, her chest heaving as she tried to take in a breath.

Aaron helped the younger girl up, smacking his hand against the space between her shoulder blades. "You're on."

Glaring hard at the older boy, knowing he was going to charge at her again, the privileged girl kept her feet steady on the ground. She wouldn't let him get her off of the mat.

She waited until he was kust close enough for her to grab at his arm, just like she had the last time, and threw all of her body weight into her upper arms.

"Dude," the older boy shouted out, landing on his back once he was flipped over the lean girl's delicate body. "What they hell?"

Emily chuckled, fixing the gloves on her hands as she watched her roommate stand from where he had been thrown on the mat. "Oh I'm sorry," she gasped, her hands splaying across her chest. "Did I hurt you?"

Aaron got himself up off of the ground and got back into his fighting position. "One more time. Let's go."

She sent a punch to his abdomen with he blocked her arm trying to swing at his neck, and in return the older boy had grabbed her around the waist and brought her down to the ground.

Emily felt out of breath, her dark eyes staring up to the older boy who was smiling down to her. His body was resting gently on top of hers, his thighs cradling her hips, their breath mingling between them in the air. "Get off," she chuckled, pushing up at his chest with as much force as she could so he flipped onto his own back.

"Cheat!" the freshman boy yelled, seeing his roommate grinning at him as she sat on his thighs. "You are such a cheater."

"What are you talking about? You're on the ground, aren't you?"

Aaron's jaw dropped as he watched her stand from his body and make her way over to the bleachers. "So unfair," he breathed out as he reached for his towel. "I win."

Emily's lips pursed, and she shook her head. "I don't think so."

The older boy's eyes widened, and he ran after the younger girl before she closed the locker room door in his face. "I win!"

"No you don't!"

Aaron pounded on the door. "I'll come in there!"

"Go ahead!" called the laughing voice.

Staning outside of the closed door, the elder of the two roommates gnawing into his bottom lip. He couldn't go in there.

Emily walked back out into the gym and grinned up to the older brunette. "Ok, how about this? I'll give you the massage if you make me the dinner."

Aaron frowned. "We share the win?"

"We share the win," she nodded.

The freshman boy shared a smile with the younger girl before dragging her out of the room and into the gym.

"Aaron!" she yelled, slapping at his arm when he wouldn't let her go. "We agreed! We share it!"

Aaron held his roommate before him, taking his gym bag and handing it to here. "If we share the win, then you'll need these."

Emily's eyes glared hard at the older boy as she reached into the bag, pulling out a bottle of massage oil. "Really?" she snorted.

"Let's get to it!"


	8. Chapter 8

Emily let her hand raise in the air when her waiter began to turn around and smiled. "Sir, do you have water with ice in it? I can't have room temperature water."

The brunette refrained from rolling his eyes as he turned back around. "Of course."

"Thank you," she giggled, seeing how annoyed her roommate was as he poured her another glass. She had given the older boy his massage an hour prior, her hand slipping because of the oil once or twice which resulted in Aaron throwing a joke her way.

She had to basically restrain herself from not touching the older boy like she wanted. Rubbing his mucsles the way that she did caused her to have to take a long shower, and now here she was, letting the same gorgeous boy wait on her hand and foot.

"Anything else?"

Emily pursed her lips. "Did you make this yourself?"

"Ah," her roommate nodded, setting the water pitcher down on the table. "I drove it here myself."

Emily laughed, letting Aaron take her napkin and even unfold it for her before setting it in her lap. "Well it looks delicious, thank you."

"I hope you like chicken. You know, with cheese and sauce and rice on the side."

The brunette gave the older boy a smile, thanking him with a little sparkle in her dark eyes for what he had done for her. "I do. One of my favorite dishes," she confessed.

Aaron looked down to his roommate with a smile.

"Well I hope you're not embarrassed to be doing this in front of people," she laughed, seeing JJ and Derek over in the other corner of their dorm's common area where Aaron was serving her. They had heard that there was a bet going on, and to not see this happening would be a sin.

"Well where else would we do it? The cafeteria? No. Outside? It's raining and my hair is pretty perfect right now."

Emily hid her smirk as she shrugged her shoulders. "The bedroom," the college freshman stated as if it was the obvious answer. "Have the lights dimmed, music playing in the background and we'd eat ice cream off of each other instead of having a piece of chicken." The brunette girl smiled up to the older boy, giving him a high five. "You picking up what I'm putting down."

Aaron nodded in agreement. "Oh I'm picking it up."

She licked the corner of her mouth before taking a bite of the chicken he had served her. "This is amazing," she moaned, not noticing the older boy getting on his knee.

The lights in the room dimmed, and Emily's head shot up in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Well," came the voice of her roommate, and Emily looked down to her side to see him smiling up to her. "If I'm going to serenade you, then I'm going to do it right."

Emily covered her mouth with her freshly manicured hand as she tried to hold back her giggles, hearing the older boy begin to sing a new love song that had come on the radio a few weeks ago. A blush creeped over her cheeks when he took her hand from her lips and held it in his, and when the song finally ended and the lights went back on, the other students that hsd been sitting around them stood and applauded.

"Well then," she breathed, giggling slightly when her roommate stood and pressed a kiss to her hand before winking at her. "Thank you."

"I hope you've enjoyed my services."

Before the smiling girl could answer, she felt a kiss pressed to her hair and she turned to see Matt standing above her. "Hi."

Aaron cleared his throat before greeting the other student. "Hey man."

"Hey," he grinned, his hand on Emily's shoulder. "So what was this? A marriage proposal?" he teased, feeling Emily's hand come up and cup his that squeezed at her collarbone. "Should I leave you two to get to it?"

Emily gave a laugh, avoiding the eyes of her roommate as Matt leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Just a bet."

"A bet? Do you want to reschedule?"

The brunette's eyes widened. She had forgotten all about their movie date. "No, not at all." She let go of his hand and grabbed onto the napkin that was in her lap. "Why don't you let me finish here and I'll call you when I'm ready?" Waiting until the boy who had been persuing her left her alone, she looked up to the brunette above her. "Do you want to sit down?"

Aaron frowned. "No, but thanks. There isn't enough food, anyway," he joked, getting ready to walk away froom the table.

"We can share."

Staring down to the beautiful girl, Aaron smiled. "You sure? It's your favorite."

Emily bit her lip. "I'm sure." She waited until he dragged a chair over from another table before putting the plate of food between them. "That part with the cheese dripping off of it? That's mine. That's the one thing you can't have."

"The one thing?"

The privilged girl laughed, smacking at his hand when he reached over to set it on her thigh. "One of the only things."

Aaron winked, ignoring the sinking feeling he knew was in his stomach when Matt looked at them from across the room. She wasn't his.


	9. Chapter 9

Letting Matt press a small kiss to her lips, Emily smiled. "I'll see you later, ok?"

"We still on for Tuesday?"

Emily had gotten a job at an on campus cafe, and he had promised to meet her at the end of her shift so they could go to a bar downtown.

She quickly nodded her head, her hand barely falling from his when she found herself being scooped up from the ground. "Aaron!" the ambassador's daughter laughed, her arms right around his that held her so she wouldn't fall. "Aaron, put me down!"

The older boy tickled underneath the rich girl's chin before pointing back over to his friend. "I'll get her back to you in one piece, I promise."

Matt gave Emily a small smile before walking the other way, leaving the pair to themselves.

Giggling as her roommate finally set her down to the ground, Emily brushed the hair from her face. "What has you so amped up?"

"We have that party, remember?" Aaron reminded her. "I had to steal you away from your precious boyfriend so we could be ready in time."

Emily quickly nodded her head. "I remembered." She walked beside her as they made their way back to their dorm, and the eighteen year old looked up to him with her dark eyes. "He's not my boyfriend, you know."

The older boy rolled his eyes, nudging his shoulder against his roommate's. "Yeah right. Have you seen you two?" To prove his point, the brunette made a gagging sound, laughing loudly when the younger girl shoved him hard.

"He's nice," she shrugged. And it wasn't like he had any other options right now. She knew that Aaron didn't want her. "But anyway, do you have your tux and everything? I didn't see you go to get it."

Aaron gave her a wink, opening the door for her so they could get into their room. "You're going to love it."

Biting nervously into the corner of her lip, Emily shook her head. "Are you pulling some really awful prank and wearing a clown costume of something because that's not funny."

"You think I would really do that?"

Emily's eyes widened as she laughed. "Yeah."

Laughing, the older boy took the garment bag from his small closet. "Specially for you," he smiled, unzipping the bag and showing her the expensive tux that he had spent so much money on just for his beautiful friend. "It's Gucci," he smirked.

Emily's jaw dropped at the sight of the tux, a she watched as he older boy quickly shed his shirt so he could get ready. "You spent all this money on a tux for one night?" She felt terrible. She knew exactly how expensive that brand was. "Aaron, you didn't need to do that."

"Don't sweat it."

She wrung her hands in front of her. "If it helps, I'm basically paying for everything else."

Aaron winked. "Good. You don't get to ride me for free, if you know what I'm saying."

Emily shared a smile with the brunette bit before going over to her own closet. "Ok, we have to be out at the car in fifteen minutes. Do you think you can go into the bathroom and change?"

Already slipping on his dress shirt, the older brunette's brows furrowed. "Why? We change in front of each other all the time."

"I can't wear my dress with a bra," she shrugged, looking down with embarrassment. "You haven't seen my bare chest," she chuckled. "I'm not giving you a free show."

Aaron saw the hesitation in his roommate's eyes and gently nodded. "Sure," he smiled, ruffling up Emily's perfect hair before leaving the room.

Exactly thirteen minutes later, Aaron was banging his head hard against his own dorm door. Emily refused to come out and it was almost time to leave. "Em, come on! I don't even know your parents and I'm gonna get off on such a bad start."

Chuckling, the brunette opened the door with her clutch in hand. "Don't have an attack until we're at the car," she smiled. "There's water and air conditioning. You'll do fine in there. But out here? It's like a sweat box."

He was stunned. Her blood red dress was flowing to the floor, the strapless dress tight around her bust with only a diamond necklace settled against her ivory skin, and her ebony hair curled and up in a delicate bun, two strands framing her face. "Wow."

Emily bit her lip, closing the door behind her. "Wow?"

The older boy quickly gave her his arm, smiling to her as they walked out of the building with everyone staring their way. "You look beautiful," he breathed.

"Thank you, Aaron." She let him put his hand on her back as he escorted her to the car, and he let her slide in because he held the door open for her.

Like a gentleman.

Emily shared a smile with the older boy as the car started. Her parents would love him.


	10. Chapter 10

Emily hooked her arm with Aaron's, her free hand rubbing gently against his forearm as they wandered into the mansion. "Is everything alright?" she whispered, trying her best to laugh it off before seeing the look of panic on her roommate's face. "Hey, what's the matter?"

The older boy shook his head, trying for a smile. "I'm good."

She pulled the other college freshman to the side and stood before him. "Hey," Emily chasted, forcing him to look up to her. "What's wrong?"

Aaron's eyes traced over the beautiful face of the younger girl he was lucky to share a room with, and he immediately felt his racing heart calm down when her chocolate brown eyes looked to his. "I'm sorry. Am I freaking out? Do you think they can see it?"

Emily gave a pout. "What's gotten you so worked up? You were fine in the limo."

The limo, Aaron sighed to himself. It wasn't hitting her that he had never known any of this or have experienced it prior to this event, and having such a beautiful girl on his arm as he walked into a mansion with dozens of dignitaries was freaking him out. "I'm alright."

Emily gave the brunette boy a glare, and all he could notice was the swaying of those two perfectly curled strands of hair that framed her face.

"Ok," he nodded. "I will be ok. It's just a lot of people."

The eighteen year old smiled her best comforting smile, taking his hands and trying her best to calm him down. "You're ok, ok? I'll be next to you the entire time." She blushed, Aaron leaning in and kissing her cheek to thank her for her pep talk. "Come with me."

Looking up from the watch he had been trying to fix for over a week, David Rossi grinned at the sight of his beautiful daughter. "Emily!" he laughed, taking his daughter into a bear hug and pressing a long kiss to her cheek. "La mia bella ragazza." My beautiful girl.

"Hi daddy," she giggled, pulling back and taking her friend's hand. "This is Aaron. He's my roommate back at NYU."

"Ah," he nodded, taking the young man's hand. "The boy who didn't send in his housing application in time."

Aaron gave the writer a smile. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Rossi. I've read a bunch of your books."

The father of two laughed at the tense smile the eighteen year old was giving him, and he wrapped his arms around him before slapping him on the back. "Good fellow!"

Emily bit her lip, meeting the almost scared eyes of the older boy as he pulled away from the hug. "We're Italian. We're touchy," she shrugged.

"Lizzy! Over here."

Seeing her mother roll her eyes at her father's exuberance, Emily held firmly onto her friend's hand. "That's my mother," she whispered, nodding over to the woman walking their way. "She's really strict and formal so don't get too upbeat, ok? Just shake her hand and smile. No political talks or commenting on the food."

"Emily dear," the woman smiled, and in that moment Aaron could see how much Emily resembled her mother. "You brought a date."

The eighteen year old smiled to her mother, letting the woman press her painted lips briefly to her cheek. "Mother, this is Aaron. He's my roommate."

Elizabeth held her hand out. "Your father told me you were rooming with a boy," she mused, her face stone cold. "Ambassador Prentiss."

"Aaron Hotchner," he introduced. "Thank you so much for the invitation to your lovely home."

Emily watched her mother make a small face before pulling her husband away toward the bar. "Sorry about her. She's never a nice person," she tried to laugh, thanking the bartender for the glasses of champagne he offered them. "My dad is where I got my beautiful personality from," the beautiful brunette smiled, earning a laugh from the older boy.

Taking the glass from his friend, Aaron let out a breath. "You think it's gonna be this easy the whole night?"

"Well this is one of my mother's favorite mansions," she nodded. Hearing a deafening silence from the boy next to her, Emily turned her head to see his wide eyes staring back at her. "Um," she stuttered. "Well we have a couple."

"A couple of mansions?"

Emily slowly nodded her head. "Like nine."

"Nine?"

The brunette quickly forced her friend's jaw closed, her teeth grinding. "Don't be so loud!"

"Em?"

Emily's eyes flickered over to the voice and she immediately saw her little sister running toward her. "Hey," she laughed, making sure her champagne didn't spill all over the sixteen year old as she hugged her back.

Chelsea leaned back and quickly took her sister's drink from her hand. "I've missed you so much. Dealing with mom is a hell of a lot harder without you." Turning, she smiled wide at the new face. "Hi, I'm Chelsea."

The older brunette glared down to her little sister, seeing that it was her seductive smile she had taught to the sly teenager. "Don't flirt with him."

"But I-"

"Don't," she warned, eyeing her baby sister with those dark eyes.

Aaron took a small step back from the sisters and hid his smile, seeing the argument that was about to ensue.

Emily was jealous of the attention she was giving him.


	11. Chapter 11

"So you're not dating?"

Aaron shook his head, denying the accusation from the older man as he sat along with him off toward the side of the party. "No sir," he denied, accepting the glass of champagne from the author. "We're just roommates. She's actually seeing one of my friends."

David frowned slightly at the new information. "Really?" He glanced across the room to see his eldest daughter trying to scoot away from a conversation with her mother and aunts. "My bella ragazza would have told me if she had a new boyfriend," he mused, stroking the small beard he had growing. "That's not like her to keep something so serious from me."

"Well they've only been going on dates for about three weeks now," the college boy offered as an explanation, catching Emily's eye from across the ballroom. "But we've also been very busy at college, sir."

The author smiled. "I'm sure. My daughter has always had her head in those books."

Aaron watched as the older man's eyes drifted toward a few pictures handing around the room, the family blown up and centered in the middle of at least five different golden frames with Emily always standing before her father, a smile plastered on her face.

The college boy could feel something tighten in his stomach as he looked away from the pictures and over to his friend, quickly standing when the beautiful girl started to make her way over to them. "Hi," he smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek when he felt a couple of dignitaries looking over to them. "Is that ok?"

Emily giggled at the frantic whisper of the older boy and quickly nodded her head. "You're good, don't worry."

"Darling."

The brunette let her father press a kiss to her head, taking his glass of champagne and handing it off to a passing waiter. "It's almost time for dinner, daddy. Mother sad she wanted you to talk to the chef."

David frowned, fixing one of the curls framing his eldest's face. "About what?"

"I didn't ask," she smirked, taking Aaron's arm and linking it with hers. "Did you really think I would risk that?"

Aaron watched as the pair separated, and he let the younger brunette pat at his arm. "What's wrong with your mom?"

Emily gave a roll of the eyes. "Who cares?"

"Ok," the older boy laughed, letting his roommate lead him across the floor and away from the rest of the guests who had come to the function. "So how are you enjoying everything so far?"

"What about you?" Emily inquired, leading Aaron away from the ballroom and out to one of the mansion's balconies to get a breath of fresh air, not the stench of overpriced perfumes and wines that were wafting around the ballroom air. "You're my guest, how are you liking everything? The appetizers ok? The company ok?"

Aaron laughed at the wink he gave her. "The company is great. And your little sister is extremely sweet."

The smile on the brown eyed girl's face morphed into a somewhat cynical smirk, and Emily gently shook her head. "Really?" she questioned, laughing lightly as the older boy let her arm fall back to her side. "Did you see more of Chelsea tonight?"

Aaron saw the slight jealousy flash behind those chocolate brown eyes, and he took a step forward. "Do you really think I'm into your little sister?"

"A lot of people are," Emily drawled.

The eighteen year old tried his best to keep his laughter subdued before he shook his head. "Why would you think that?"

Emily paused, her forehead scrunching before she chuckled, biting into her lower lip. "We should get back to the party."

"Wait," Aaron called, softly grabbing her arm and spinning her so he could look into those dark eyes. "Emily, what's wrong? We were having a good time."

"No, it's nothing. It's just my brain being weird, I promise."

He could see the pain as she tried to laugh it off, and he brought her body closer to his. "You're my friend. I would never do something like that to you."

Emily's lips thinned into a straight line, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks as she felt Aaron's hands rubbing down her arms. "Yeah?" she questioned. She knew how insecure she was sounding, but it wouldn't be the first time someone she trusted went for her little sister.

"I don't like her like that."

Emily's eyes widened, seeing her roommate and friend lean into her. "Do you like me like that?" the brown eyed girl asked somewhat fearfully, her fingers clenching in the material of his tux.

He leaned in, taking in the younger girl's scared sigh before he brushed his lips over hers. "I do."

Chelsea frowned at the kissing couple on the balcony, hearing her father's chuckle come from beside her. "You're not gonna do anything?"

"Not a thing, pumpkin."

"You're still going to let them room together?" Chelsea asked in disbelief, letting her father take her by the arm and drag her from the study.

"Mind your business," David laughed as quietly as he could, making sure to shut the study doors behind him as his daughter wrapped her arms around Aaron's strong neck. He knew there had to be something going on between them.

If only he could see the college boy backing his daughter up against the balcony's banister, his careful hands grasping her hips. He would never let her fall.


	12. Chapter 12

Emily felt her lashes flutter against her cheeks as her eyes peeled themselves back open, her arms hanging dully around the older boy's neck as he pulled his lips from hers. "Why did you do that?" she whispered, her eyes jumping from his to his lips to the moon shining over her roommate's shoulder.

Aaron tightened his hold on the brunette girl's hips. "Didn't you want me to?"

"Well yes, but I-"

"So that's why," the college student nodded, stepping closer to the younger girl to make sure she wouldn't try and walk away. "Didn't you like it?"

Emily's eyes stung at the feeling she had in her stomach, the heat running throughout her entire body. "I'm seeing Matt," she shrugged, her fingers reluctantly playing with the hairs at the back of her roommate's neck. "That doesn't mean I don't like you but I'm seeing him."

"Seeing him," Aaron nodded. "You've gone on dates, but you're not dating."

"Aaron," the ambassador's daughter breathed, finally taking her arms from around Aaron's neck and clasping her fidgeting hands before her stomach. "I like him."

The older boy's eyes darkened slightly on his roommate. "Do you like me?"

Emily's jaw gently dropped. "I think so." She shrugged, tears hiding in the corners of her chocolate eyes as she looked to her friend. "You're my friend, you're my roommate! What are we supposed to do?"

"I like you."

The brunette girl took a step back when Aaron took one forward, her hands pressing against his chest when he tried to get closer to her. "No please," the doe eyed girl begged. "Please don't come closer."

"Emily, are you mad at me?" Aaron shook his head, stepping forward even though he saw the tears in his friend's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Emily's lips curled in, her head shaking when the older boy looked to her with those handsome eyes. "I've ben in the middle of something like this before and I can't do it again. It ended so badly for everyone and I won't do that to you."

Aaron frowned. "You were in something like this before?"

The brown eyed girl huffed, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I was confused, and I was in a relationship and then this other guy practically came out of nowhere. It boggled my mind how much I ended up liking him, but they fought and my boyfriend got a black eye and gave the other guy ended up in the hospital for a couple of broken ribs."

"Damn."

Emily let out a cry, not wanting to see the judgment in her friend's eyes. "It was all my fault and this is turning into the same exact thing!"

"Emily," Aaron almost laughed, the anguish he saw in those dark eyes breaking his heart. "This is not the same thing."

The ambassador's daughter frowned at the older boy. "Really? Two boys and me in the middle? God," she groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "I sound like the biggest slut, I can't believe it."

Aaron quickly took the younger girl in his arms, forcing her to stop her struggle against him. "Hey, stop it! Why would you think that?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

He brushed the small strands of hair from the younger brunette's face, shaking his head when she looked at him with those doubting eyes. "I like you, Emily. I really do. Don't you like spending time me with? You've canceled on Matt for me before, have you done that for him?"

Emily bit her lip.

"Have you seen him look at you the way I do?"

"Aaron," she breathed.

The college boy bore his eyes into the ambassador's daughter's, his hands splaying against the material of her dress. "I'm not going to force you into anything, you know that. You're my friend, Emily. I'll let you decide this on your own."

Emily slowly shook her head, her shaking hands coming up to cup her roommate's warm cheeks. "I do like you," she nodded hesitantly. "But I can't just dump him like that. I know how that feels, I can't cause that kind of pain." She couldn't do that to either of them.

Aaron let the brunette out of his arms and watched as she leaned over the balcony, trying her best to breathe in and get herself to calm down. "Emily."

She turned her head, her dark eyes glancing over to him as her hands wrapped around the railing.

"I'll give you time," he nodded.

Emily held in her cry until the handsome boy made his way back into the party, the tears falling from her eyes as she covered her mouth with a shaking hand.


	13. Chapter 13

Looking up from the book he had stolen from his roommate's small bookshelf, Aaron jumped from his spot on his bed, watching the brunette beauty walk into the room with her head down. He had been waiting days to see her, the younger girl wanting to stay at her father's for the rest of the weekend so she could think things over. "Hey."

Emily's head popped up, her freshly cut hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Hi," she whispered, smiling nervously to the older boy. "How are you?"

"I'm good," he nodded, a smile spreading over his face as he set the book on his bed. He hadn't left his room in almost two days, not wanting to miss the moment his friend came back. "How was your weekend?"

Emily gave a small shrug, rolling her suitcase into the room and setting it near her closet. "It was ok. A lot of family bonding and stuff like that."

Aaron stayed in his spot, nervous to walk over to the younger girl and possibly startle her with a hug or even with a smile too big. "Ok, well did you finish that English paper? Hendricks is on all of our asses."

"Yeah," she laughed shortly, "I did. I sent it to him via email yesterday."

"So have you eaten?"

Emily's dark eyes flickered up from her bags to those of the older boy, her body stiffening slightly when she saw him take a step closer. "No I haven't."

Aaron smiled. "Do you want to go get dinner with me? I haven't eaten yet either, and I really could. I'm starving."

"Me too." The ambassador's daughter smiled softly, and she nodded her head. "I'd love to. Give me a few minutes? I need to change." She watched as he quickly nodded his head and practically bolted from the room to give her time alone, and she quietly shut the door behind him.

Pulling her shirt over her head, Emily bit her lip thinking about the boy on the other side of the door. She had spent the entire time at her father's house thinking about her roommate, knowing he was missing her just as much as she was missing him, and the ambassador's daughter knew Aaron wanted to know where she stood with what happened with them over the weekend.

She had needed to spend the extra days with her father, knowing the older man who had raised her all her life would know exactly how to help her, and he had made her realize exactly what she needed to do.

Fixing her boot on her foot, Emily turned and opened up the dorm door to see the older boy standing against the wall across from theirs. "Hi."

"Hi," he grinned, getting off the wall and standing straight. "You ready?"

Emily followed him out of their building, her hand slowly gravitating toward his before their fingers brushed one another's. "So I wanted to talk to you," Emily stated softly, her eyes squinting as the setting sun glared at her from beyond the mess hall. "I know I overreacted this weekend."

Aaron paused, shaking his head. "I think you reacted the way anyone would have."

"I just wanted to apologize," she nodded. "I think I should have handled it better, and after you went home, I had the moment I needed to to think everything over and to just refresh."

He gave her the floor, letting her stop them in their stride and take his hand in hers.

Emily smiled, her new hair reaching the tops of her shoulders as she shook her head. "I broke up with Matt."

"Really?"

Seeing the immediate happiness pop into the older boy's eyes, Emily let out the loudest laugh she had in a while. "No please, don't hold back any reactions."

Aaron laughed, feeling the younger girl squeeze his hand. "So what does that mean?"

"I want to take things slowly," she nodded. "I really like you, but it's just a lot to digest."

Leaning in, the dark haired boy cautiously set his hands on her hips. "So can I kiss you?"

Emily tried her best to stop herself from smiling. "I said to take it slowly," she giggled, her hand coming up to cup themselves around her roommate's neck.

"Then I'll kiss you slowly."

Her head tilted to the side and let Aaron press a long kiss to her lips, hers opening up under his command and letting his tongue slip itself into her hot mouth. "I love this," she smiled, pulling back from the older boy and taking a breath, "but I'm too concentrated on food right now."

Aaron cracked up, pressing a kiss to Emily's head before taking her hand. "Ok," he nodded, letting her swing their clasped hands between them. "Food it is."


End file.
